Should I Wait for the AGP 6600GT?

[Spether]

I'm planning on building a new machine in December, a couple weeks before Christmas. I won't be buying a PCI-e board, so I'll need an AGP video card. My heart was set on the HIS Radeon 9800 Pro because of the excellent cooling and noise solution. But this morning I saw the story about how 6600GT AGP cards will be available by the end of November for $200. Now I am torn. Does anyone have an idea how these cards will stack up performance-wise? I'm really on the fence now. Still leaning towards the 9800 because I know what it will do, but intrigued by the 6600's ability to deliver SM 3.0 at a slightly lower price.

What are your thoughts?

 

[tonyz6971]

I read this review yesterday: http://tech-report.com/reviews/2004q3/geforce-6600gt/index.x?pg=1

It's a great card if you only want to spend $200. I was going to wait for the AGP version and then I went for the BFG 6800 GT OC seeing the benchmarks of it compared to the 6600 GT when you start bumping up the AA and AAF. It's the best in it's class if you only wanna spend $200...I just couldn't wait

 

[Coyote]

Just be patient. If it's out and AVAILABLE by the end of November, there'll be a gazillion benchie done comparing the two.

Also the price will likely drop on the 9800 pro

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[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Well the GF6600GT has good performance in the majority of situations. I doubt the Bridge chip will affect it or the X700 <i>TOO</i> much.

There are many review out ther which highlight it's performance (in fact the CS:S thread I posted recently contains information which may interest you).

You can also check global reviews like Digit Life's <A HREF="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/over2k4/index.html" target="_new">'101' Graphics Cards</A> or <A HREF="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/index0409.html" target="_new">3Dcard Digest</A> to get an idea of how they stack up. They also have a <A HREF="http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/gffx/nv43-p01.html" target="_new">VERY in-depth look at the GF6600GT</A>, and do put it up against alot of other cards. Looking at many of the benchies the GF6600 once again does very well with low settings throughout the resolutions, but sometimes at higher resolutions (even 1280x1024) with 4XAA enabled the GF6600GT hit the wall because of it's memory limitations, other times though you see it power straight through because it doesn't reach that limit. I did notice that it does appear to be a factor in the Unreal games, but in many of the other newer ones the framerates were staying above the R9800Pro.

As for SM3.0 I would say that a majority of the new SM3.0 effects are beyond the GF6600 capabilities in a way that brings playable framerates at good resolutions. However there isn't enough info out there yet; but there should be more by the end of next month which should really show the potential with certain effects. The best bet would be on any efficiencies derived from SM3.0 more than what may be fps draining effects. Of course you don't get them either way with the R9800series, so if you're interested then it might be a nice bonus, because you can enable and disable them depending on their impact and your tastes. I am beginning to feel that while not as bad, SM3.0 for the mid to low end cards may be as effective as DX9 for the FX line. Of course it's still something the competition doesn't have, just not sure whether it matters much other than simply to try it.

If this is your card for the next couple of years then it would be wise to chose the GF6600GT because it should be able to tackle most situations quite well and while it may at worst EQUAL the R9800PRO in some situations, you have alot more options available to you.


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[KCjoker]

I'm looking to build a new computer in Dec or Jan and will most likely get the 6600GT in AGP version too. For the price it's a very good card. I'm hoping I can get enough cash for a BFG 6800NU OC though. If you want to play at high resolutions the 6600GT might not work for you but I usually play at 1024x768 so I'm fine.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

At 1024x768 you shouldn't hit any walls memory wise. And the GF6600GT and X700PRO/XT should be PERFECT for that kind of resolution throughout the quality settings, except maybe nV's SS+MS 8xAA setting which seems to kill every card it touches perfromance wise.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[Spether]

Thanks to everybody who replied, especially TheGreatGrapeApe's detailed answers. You all gave me a lot to think about.